Assessment

Standardized Testing Program (5120.1)

Annually, SKDS gives its students the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills/Cognitive Abilities Test; this is an Archdiocesan requirement for students in our Catholic Schools.

The Iowa Assessments help determine how students are performing on nationwide standards. These assessments measure achievement in several important content areas including Reading, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The exact tests that your child participated in depended on his or her grade level.

The Iowa Assessments help teachers identify a student’s strengths and areas that may need additional emphasis. The Iowa Assessments also measure student growth and progress in the content areas assessed from year to year. The assessments produce information that enables sound decision making and provides a focus for teachers to evaluate instruction.

Our students continue to achieve. They continue to make gains from one year to the next. It is also important to remember that these tests present a picture of the student for one moment in time. While these tests are very important, they do not provide the entire portrait of what a student is capable of doing nor do they present the entire depiction of a student’s educational competency. During the assessment timeframe, a child may have been tired, may not have felt well, or may have been distracted. If all aspects in a child’s educational situation indicate struggle (classwork and projects, teacher observation, child lack of interest or school issues, teacher assessment, etc. in addition to the standardized tests), then there is reason for concern.

We also know that we have more average and struggling students in our school population as well as students who are satisfied with mediocrity. Additionally, we know that some students are not test takers. They become very nervous when they have to concentrate on taking standardized tests for several days at a time even though we give breaks, offer encouragement and aim to provide an atmosphere that has a minimum of stress. Assessment, though, is a fact of life. We assess all students in grades 1 through 8